Marionette for narrow ware looms



Oct. 25, 1938. F. w. PRESTON MARIONETTE FOR NARROW WARE LOOMS V Filed May 6, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I R M I d o i 25 n 3 x 34 ATTORNEY.

Oct. 25, 1938. F. w PRESTON 2,134,201

MARIONETTE FOR NARROW WARE LOOMS Fil ed May a, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 u INVENTO I M Jr MP'reSZ-a n, R

ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 25, 1938 UNITED STATES.

um OFFICE 2,134,201 MARIONETTE FOR. NARnovv WARE LooMs Frank w. Preston, Paterson Nf L H Application May6, 1938, Serial No. 206,321- 4 Claims. (01. 139- 1371;

This invention relates to means for selecting and driving the shuttles in a narrow-ware loom having its shuttles superposed, as usually in superposed banks, i. e., a number of shuttles to each bank; and it has reference particularly to that type of such means known as a marionette. Heretofore when the loom was equipped with four superposed shuttles to each weaving space the marionette was only adapted to select and drive one shuttle at a time in a groupof superposed shuttles, as one such shuttle serving to supply ground weft and the others figure weft; in other words, only one fabric could be woven at a time. If the character of the fabric to be woven required with ground weft only one figure weft, and hence the driving of only two of the superposed shuttles, the other two shuttles remained idle, so that in such case the loom operated at only one-half its capacity.

According to this invention it is possible to use all four superposed shuttles but in the weaving of one fabric; or to use all four shuttles, weaving two fabrics at a time, the shuttles being active in pairs alternately entering the warp sheds for such fabrics; or to use three or even four shuttles each constantly active relatively to a given one of three or four sheds.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a front elevation of one end portion of a loom embodying the improved marionette partly in section and partly broken away; I

Fig. 2 is a left side elevation of the marionette;

Fig. 3 is a section of what is shown in Fig. 2 but in the plane 3-3 of Fig. 4, certain parts appearing in elevation;

Figs. 4 and 5 are sections as viewed respectively to left and right from the central vertical plane of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the shifter; and

Fig. 7 a front elevation of one of its pickers.

l is the main batten above which is the auxiliary batten structure comprising the lower and upper rails 2a and 2b and the shuttle blocks 3 connecting the rails and having equally spaced superposed races guiding the shuttles 4a4b4c4d. There will usually, of course, be a number of the blocks and hence of the sets of shuttles. In each rail is a pair of racks 5 (one behind the other) which through pinions, as 6, drive the shuttles, the two lower racks the shuttles la-lib and the two upper racks the shuttles 4c-4d, such being well known. Also well known are the pairs of cords I, the cords of each pair being connected to a rack and crossing each other and extending around pulleys 8 and then upwardly. To change the elevation of the auxiliary'batten structure, and thus bring any one shuttle into'line with the warp shed, of which there isassumed to be but one, there is' the'usual pattern-controlled meansB. v 1

The following 'parts'of the marionette are also known: I l

-The stick-guiding box comprising two housings 7 l0 joined in spaced relation by transverse members/5H; they having their inner or adard l4 and is therefore fixed against vertical I displacement. In- Fig. 1 the auxiliary batten structure is at its upwardlimit of movement the loom framej F, standard l4 and a portion of I means-8 i being broken away. In efiect -a part.

of the auxiliary batten structure'is aframe comprising rods l5 upstanding from the top rail "2?) (beingreinforced by'bracke'ts l5a on such rail) and a cross-head 16, the rods being slidable in guides l1 projecting from the box. In the crosshead are journaled pulleys l8 and over these respectively extend-cords I9, one toeach pair of cords l, and to the ends of each cord I9 are connected two of the sticks 20, they being respectively connected to the ends of cords I. In short, each pair of cords 1, the corresponding cord l9 and two sticks form a flexible rack-moving train which extends over a pulley l8 and, including a stick in each housing of' the box, has its ends crossed and attached to a rack, wherefore movement of one stick or the other downwardly moves the rack one way or the other, the other stick rising. Each stick contains in its lengthwise slot a pawl 2| pivoted at its lower end and movable from retracted position in the stick to a position in which its finger 2 la projects from the stick into the path of a shifter which reciprocates constantly up and down in the slot l2, the pawl being normally held retracted by a spring 22 on the stick. The sticks of each group are stepped at intervals, equal to those of the shuttle spacing, with the one nearest the observer in Fig. 1 the highest. It is usual to provide at the outer sides of the housings-of the box and in the same horizontal plane two bars, such as 23; one for each stickgroup, and on each such bar to provide four springs, such as 24, which reach into the respective slots l3, into which, further, may reach the humps shown on the backs (Fig. 3) of the pawls when the pawls are retracted. According to the 1b jacent' sides open and a space lz'betwe'en them I elevation to which the auxiliary batten structure and hence the mentioned pulley-carrying frame and trains are moved so the pawls of sticks of some one train will be brought to position to be subject to the action of corresponding springs 24 (to wit, to move the pawls against the tension of springs 22 into the path of the mentioned shifter). In the position assumed, the auxiliary batten being fully raised, the most remote complementary sticksin Fig. 1 are subject to the action of their controllers formed by the springs 24, wherefore (Fig. 3) on" every other downward stroke of the shifter the left-hand stick will be pushed down and on the remaining downward strokes the right-hand stick. will be pushed down, thus to reciprocate the shuttlesactuated from these two sticks; when the auxiliary batten structure is moved to any ofthe otherpositions in which some shuttle will be alined with the (single) warp shed two other complementary sticks will be positioned sotasitobe subject to their controllers and the corresponding shuttle will be actuated. With the mechanism thus constructed the loom can weave at a time only one fabric (or a single bank of fabrics, assuming that as'usual. there are a number of shuttle blocks and sets of shuttles). V

Now accordingto thisinvention, givena fourway narionette (by. which I mean, one .of the class herein'set forth haying four shuttle-driving trains) the box thereofh as means to support eight, controllers in twosets offour each and with 'such sets respectively adjacent the two stick-groups and with all the controllers of each set either in what Iterm the primary plane (be-' ing the plane occupied by the alreadymentioned four controllers), or the odd-numbered controllers of each sets in said plane and the ;even numbered controllers in a secondary-.and .higher plane, or the first and third controllers in each set in said primary plane andthe second and fourth controllers in a still higher or tertiary plane; Thereby the loom is adapted for the weaving of two fabrics at once aswell as only one, and in weaving two fabrics-at once the shuttles can be driven in pairs comprising either 4a-4b and ie-4d or 4a--4c and fib hi. V

'Ihatis, another bar 25 is arranged'to cross the slots I3 of each set above the bar 23 and both these barsare provided with holes :Lythe lower bar with four such holes respectively opposite the four slots and the bar 25 with two ;-such holes respectively opposite the second and fourth slots, always reading from the front of the box.

Further, another bar 2'6 is arranged to cross the slots of each set above bar 25 and this has holes a: respectively opposite the'third and fourth slots. If the loom is to operate with one shuttle at a time being driven four controllers 24 are removably secured to bar 23 by screws 28 tapped into the holes a: of such bar, the controllers be ing then all in the mentioned primary plane I. If the loom is to operate with the shuttles driven in pairs 4a -4b and 4c-4d then the second and fourth controllers are removed from the bar 23 and secured by the screws to bar 25 opposite the second and fourth slots, being then in what I term the secondary plane II. (Of course, to change the drive from either shuttle pair to the other will in this case require a vertical displacement of the auxiliary batten structure equal to the spacing of the two shuttles, the sheds having the vertical spacing indicated at AA) If the loom is to operate with the shuttles driven in the pair d -4c and lb'4d then the thirdand fourth controllers are transferred to the bar 26 opposite the third and fourth slots, being secured by the screws 28 and being then in what I term the tertiary plane III. (In this case, to change the drive from either shuttle pair to the other will require a vertical displacement of the anxiliary batten structure of but one shuttle space, the sheds having the vertical spacing indicated at 3-3). It is assumed, and as will appear, that the shifter is constructed tocatch stick-pawls projecting intospace [2 at whatever elevation or elevations. The vertical spacing of the planes I, 11 and III is the same as that of the shuttles.

It may be desired to drive three or even all four shuttles at a time. In either case, with another bar 2'! provided above the bars already referred to, the four controllers would be secured to the four bars and opposite the respective slots,

beginning with bar 23 and the first slot.

It has been assumed heretofore that the selecting affects onlythesticks, to wit, as determined by some selected arrangement of the controllers alone." But the shifter may be made to modify the selection, and for this purpose will be constructed as follows:

It has a body portion 29 having a bore forming a guideway receiving a stationary rod 30 on which the, shifter constantly isreciprocated from some going part of the loom through a link 35, said body portion having four superposed bars 32 spaced thesame as the superposed shuttles. On eachbar are pickers or catching portions 33 each of the binaryform shown by Fig. 7 (so as to catch the palwl-fingers of complementary sticks as the shifter reciprocates in space l2); also on each bar is a spacer 34. The pickers and spacers are removably held on the bars by cotter-pins 35. Various possibilities exist in the use of such a shifter. For oneexarnple, assume that there alre four controllers on the bar 23 but that the four pickers shown have been left arranged opposite the respective slots l 3 but with the odd-numbered ones on the lowest shifter bar and the evennumbered ones on the next lowest shifter bar. Then when the stick-groups stand at one elevation (or with the whole number of sticks in each group in position to be caught by the shifter) such first and third sticks will be moved and when the stick-groups are moved to the next elevaltion (or with the second and fourth sticks in each group in position to be caught by the shifter) such second and fourth sticks will be moved.

7 Or, as a further example, assume that there are again four controllers on bar 23 but that the four pickers have been left arranged as shown in Fig. 6. At ainy one elevation of the sticks the pawl of only one stick from each group will at any time be in position to be engaged by the shifter, all the other pawls being in retracted positions. This would be the conditionfor using all four shuttles in the weaving of a single fabric.

In the foregoing I have treated the order of the sticks, controllers, etc; as reading from the front of the box merely to facilitate explanation of the mechanism; the appended claims are to be understood as not limited in this respect.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A marionette box for a four-way marionette having means to support two sets of four stickpawl controllers respectively operatively adjacent to the two stick-groups of the marionette and with either all of the controllers of each set in the lowest of three superposed equidistant plans, or with the odd-numbered controllers of each set in said plane and the even-numbered controllers of each set in the intermediate one of said planes, or with the first and second controllers of each set in said lowest plane and the third and fourth controllers of each set in the highest of said planes.

2. A marionette box for a four-way marionette having means to support two sets of four stickpawl controllers respectively operatively adjacent to the two stick-groups of the marionette and with either all of the controllers of each set in the lowest of three equidistant planes, or with the odd-numbered controllers of each set in said plane and the even-numbered controllers of each set in the intermediate one of said planes.

3. A marionette box for a four-way marionette having means to support two sets of four stickpawl controllers respectively operatively adjacent to the two stick-groups of the marionette and with either all of the controllers of each set in the lowest of three'superposed equidistant planes, or'

extending cross-wise, and spaced from each other lengthwise, of the guideway, and a groupof ele- F ments removably arranged on each bar and each including a picker and spacers.

FRANK W. PRESTON. 

